Open Beacon MP4 Conversion and Compression Plugin

Over the past 10 years, the stunning rise of video on the internet as a way to communicate
and disseminate ideas has made it a platform that EVERYONE has needed to get familiar with
and master. With this rise, came incredible tools like FFmpeg and video file formats like
MP4, that has become the de facto video format on the web. FFmpeg is a powerful open source
video conversion, compression and streaming tool used by top services like YouTube and
Facebook. Because of the current zeitgeist, it is important to use video on your site to
interact with you visitors in ways that they can relate to and understand. Communicating
in a standard way using the MP4 video format and making sure those videos are small in size
but good in quality is therefore absolutely imperative.

Open Beacon MP4 Conversion and Compression combines WordPress with FFmpeg to easily convert
files from the popular FLV and MOV file formats to the even more popular MP4 file format.
Existing MP4 files can be radically compressed without any perceptible loss in video quality.
In short, Open Beacon MP4 Conversion and Compression is what any WordPress aficionado needs
if they want to use FFmpeg.

This plugin ONLY works with FFmpeg.

Arbitrary section

A brief Markdown Example

1. Install the plugin like it is commonly done, either by uploading it via FTP or by using the
   “Add Plugin” function of WordPress.

2. Activate the plugin at the plugin administration page.

3. Go to the “OB MP4 ConComp Central” and click the “Settings” tab.

4. Enter the FFmpeg path. Put in a local FFmpeg path for a local WordPress installation or one
   provided by your host for a remote one.

5. Go to the “Central” tab and start converting.

Usage

1. Go to the “OB MP4 ConComp Central” menu and click it. Click on the “Settings” tab. Make sure
   that the FFmpeg path has been entered correctly and that FFmpeg has in fact been found.

2. Click on the “Central” tab. You can the select the video you want to convert, assign it a
   category and write a short caption. After all the data has been filled out, click the “Convert
   and Compress Video” button. After the video has been converted and compressed, You can view it
   by going to the “OB MP4 ConComps” menu.

3. The “OB MP4 ConComps” page shows all the compressions and conversions you have made, titled
   with the caption you entered. Click on one of the titled links to open your output video.

4. The “Open Beacon MP4 Compression and Conversion” page contains metaboxes with metadata
   pertaining to the video output. This is the same data you captured when you uploaded the
   original video. To get your compressed and converted video, go to the bottom “Video” metabox
   and right click the “Download” button; you can then save the output video wherever you please.

1. 

   The Open Beacon MP4 Conversion and Compression main page. This is where the conversion and compression of video happens.

2. 

   The Settings page. FFmpeg settings are configured here.

3. 

   The list page showing all the conversions and compressions that have been made.

4. 

   The View Open Beacon MP4 Conversion and Compression page which shows a single video with metabaoxes containing all pertinent data. MOST IMPORTANTLY, it has a "Download" button where the output video can be got.

5. 

   The categories page.

Q: Does “Open Beacon MP4 Conversion and Compression” only work when FFmpeg is installed?
A: Yes. The plugin was designed to be an easy way to convert and compress videos using
FFmpeg. As such, the plugin only works when FFmpeg is installed.

Q: How do I tell if FFmpeg is correctly configured for my plugin?
A: If the FFMPEG setting on your settings page says, “FOUND”, then it is correctly configured.

Q: After I have successfully converted and compressed my video, how do I get the video output?
A: Simply go to the “OB MP4 ConComps” menu and click on your latest conversion/compression. It
will open up a page with data pertaining to the video. Go to the “Video” metabox and right
click the download button. This will download your upload video.

Q: What happens to the orginal video?
A: The original video is deleted after conversion and compression.

Q: Can the converted/compressed video be used as part of WordPress’s general media?
Yes, it is available for use like all other media. Simply go to the “Media” menu
and you will find the video and use it as you desire in your WordPress posts or pages.

Q: Is this plugin tailored to work locally or on a remote host or both?
A: The plugin is designed to work well in both settings.

1.0

Initial release